When testing electronic devices, it is often desirable to transmit a large number of signals between the electronics of a test system and one or more devices under test (DUTs). It is also typically desirable for a test system to provide a wide range of functionality for testing DUTs.
Semiconductor test (and particularly, semiconductor wafer test or “wafer sort”) is an application where it can be especially useful for a test system to provide both a high signal count and wide range of test functionality to a plurality of DUTs (i.e., to a plurality of DUTs on a semiconductor wafer). A high signal count and wide range of functionality can also be useful in semiconductor “final test”, and in other applications.
It is also desirable that test systems, and particularly automated test equipment (ATE) systems used for semiconductor test, provide a wide range of test functionality so that, over their life cycles, the systems can be used to test different types of DUTs (e.g., DUTs having different physical configurations, and DUTs having different functionality).